Coin counting machine



June 20, 1933. P @NNELLAN 1,914,362

COIN COUNTING'MACHINE Filed Dec. 16, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR June 20, 1933. P DONNELLAN 1,914,362

COIN COUNTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 16, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 iiaaznf U/Z/26/I/Z,

- ATTORNEY ?atentetl .lnne 20, 1933 EDKVARID P. DONNELLAN, OF BROOKLYN, NEYV YORK, ASSIGNOE TO STANDARD- JGHNSGN COMPANY, INC, F BROOKLYN, NEE"? YQRK, A CGEFGRATIQN OF NEW YORK COIN COUNTING MACHINE Application filed December 16, 1931. Serial No. 581,361.

This invention relates, generally, to improvements in coin counting machines of the type shown in my copending applications Serial Nos. 466,075 and 581,360; and this invention has reference, more particularly, to improvements for guiding and controlling the movement of the coins from the centrifugal feed table to the star wheel of the counting mechanism.

This invention has for its principal object to provide a novel means operable, during the adjustmentof the coin guideway ring which surrounds the marginal portions of the centrifugal feed table, to simultaneously adjust the position of the turn-out plate which guides the coins to the counting means star wheel.

ther objects of this invention, not at this time more particularly enumerated, will be clearly understood from the following detailed description of the same.

The inventioi'i is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan View with parts broken away of the improved coin counting machine;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 2-2 of Fig. 1 with parts broken away; and

Fig. 3 a schematic plan view illustrating the operation ofthe novel means of this invention.

Similar characters of reference are employed in all of the above described views to indicate corresponding parts.

Referring 110w to the said drawings the reference numeral 1 designates the bed-plate of the machine. A. centrifugal feed table 2 is countersunk in an opening 3 provided in the bed-plate 1 and turns freely within said opening. Table 2 is driven from a drive shaft 4- through suitable gearing 5 and the upper surface of this table 2 is surrounded by a coin guiding and controlling means 6. Drive shaft 4 is shown driven by a power pulley 9 but the same may be driven by a hand wheel, if desired. This coin guiding and controlling means has a horizontally disposed flange portion 7 provided with a depending annular stop flange 8 which surrounds the periphery of the feed table. Stop flange 8 is cut away adjacent the counting mechanism of the machine so that the coins may escape from under flange portion 7 and pass into operative engagement with the coin propeller wheel 10 which acts to drive the coins past the star wheel 11 of the counting mechanism.

The coin guiding and controlling means 6 is adjustable vertically toward and away 4 from the feed table 2 to thereby vary the vertical distance between the under surface of the flange portion 7 and the top of the feed table so that this distance will substantially conform to the thickness of the particular denomination of coins passing through the machine at any time. In order to obtain this desired adjustment of the coin guiding and controlling means, a. plurality of vertical, annular-1y spaced jack screws 12 are provided, which jack screws are threaded through apertures provided in the bedplate 1 and have pinions 13 secured to their lower end portions below bed-plate 1. Pinions 13 mesh with a common ring gear 14!: that is rotatably supported upon a fixed portion of the machine frame.

Screws 15 are threaded into the upper ends of the jack screws and serve to hold the coin guiding and controlling means 6 down upon upwardly directed, spring pressed plungers 16 carried by bed-plate 1. One of the jack screws is provided with a knob 17 wh'ch when turned serves to turn the jack screw and its pinion 13, which pinion, by turning the ring gear 14, serves to similarly cause the turning of the remaining jack screws. Thus as the jack screws are turned the coin guiding and controlling means 6 is adjusted up or down as desired.

Inscribed on the lower portion 19 of knob 17 are indicating marks 18 denoting different denominations of coins, whereby, when this knob is turned to bring a selected coin designating mark in registration with a fixed indicating pointer 20, the connected jack screw will be turned to adjust the coin guiding and controlling means to a height corresponding to the thickness of the coin indicated. The structure thus far disclosed has been fully shown and described in my copending application, Serial Number 466,- 075, above referred to, and would therefore appear to require no further description. The coin propeller wheel 10 is driven by shafting 21 which in turn is connected through a clutch 22 and sprocket chain drive 23 to the drive shaft 4, as shown and described in my copending application Serial Number 581,360.

According to the preferred arrangement of the present invention, there is disposed at one side of the coin escape opening, an adjustable turn-out plate or tongue 47 which has a curved guiding edge 48. This turn-out plate 47 intersects the coin runway extending between the surface of table 2 and the under-surface of flange 7 so as to present its curved guiding edge 48 in the path of coins carried around by the feed table, whereby said coins will be turned and guided outwardly from the feed table to propeller wheel 10. The turn-out plate 47 is fixed on a vertical arbor or shaft 49 which is turnably mounted in a bearing aperture provided in a bearing 33 formed on bed-plate 1. In this manner the turnout plate 47 is pivotally mounted so as to turn or swing in a horizontal plane.

A horizontally disposed lever 24 has its hub fixed upon the lower portion of arbor 49 and this lever extends rearwardly from this arbor into overlying relation to the ring gear 14. The free end of lever 24 carries a roller 25 for cooperating with a cam or cam plate 26 secured as by screws 2 to the upper surface of the ring gear 14. The working face or edge 28 of the cam 26 is of such shape as to cause the roller 25 to move radially outwardly and inwardly as the ring gear 14 is turned under the turi'iing action of pinion 13 fixed upon jack screw 12 having the knob 17 thereon. A collar 29 is fixed upon the lower portion of arbor 40 below lever 24 and this collar carries a horizontally extending stud 30. A coil tension spring 31 has one end connected to a fixed stud 32 which depends from oedplate 1 and its other end is attached to the stud 30. Tension spring 31 by acting through stud and collar 29, serves to urge lever 24 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 1, so that roller 25 is thus held in engagement with the working face 28 of cam 26 whenever this cam is opposite the roller 25. The bearing 33 is provided with a depending pin 34 which, by engaging a stop shoulder 35 formed on lever 24, serves to limit the radial inward motion of roller 25 when cam 26 is not opposite this roller.

The contour of the working face 28 of cam 26 is made such, that as knob 17 is turned to cause the coin guiding and controlling means to move up or down to accommodate a desired coin denomination, the lever 24 will be simultaneously moved by cam 26, causing the turning of turn-out plate 47 so that the spacing of the curved portion 48 of this plate from the star wheel 11 and from an opposed thrust plate 36 vill be proper to accommodate the diameter of the particular denomination of coin whose thickness is simultaneously accommodated by the coin guiding and controlling means 6.

The thrust plate 36 has a curved portion 37 and is slidably mounted upon bed-plate 1 adjacent the coin escape opening of the member 6. Curved portion 37 lies on that side of the coin escape opening which is opposite to the curved surface 48 of the turnout plate 47. Thrust plate 36 also has a straight portion 38 which is opposed to the star wheel 11, so as to maintain a coin, propelled past the star wheel by the propeller wheel 10, in operative engagement with the star wheel. Thrust plate 36 is slidably adjustable toward and away from the star wheel 11 so as to space the same from the latter according to the diameter of the particular denomination of coin being counted. Thrust plate 36 is guided in its movements by an overlying housing 39, and this thrust plate has an extension 40 which carries a screw 41. A nut 42 engages screw 41. Nut 42 has an operating handle 43 and is held against longitudinal movement by a bracket 44 formed on housing 39. By turning handle 43 the screw 41 and hence thrust plate 36 may he moved toward or away from the star wheel so as to cause an indicator mark 45 on extension 40 to register with any one of a plurality of scale marks 46 inscribed upon a fixed plate, which scale marks designate differing coin denominations.

In use, if it is assumed that it is desired to adjust the machine for counting dimes, for example, it merely necessary to turn the knob 17 so that the indicating mark thereon coincides with pointer 20. This turning of the knob 17 actuates pinions 13 and ring gear 14 so as not only to adjust the vertical position of the coin guiding and controlling means 6 to accommodate the thickness of the dimes, but also simultaneously adjusts turn-out plate 47 to accommodate the diameter of the dimes. The thrust plate 36 is also adjusted by means of handle 43 so that mark 45 coincides with the D mark 46. The cooperative action of the curved edge 48 of the turn-out plate with the curved portion 37 of the thrust plate serves to nicely determine the intervening escape space through which the dimes pass away from the feed table 2. In Fig. 3 the turn-out plate and the thrust plate are illustrated as adjusted to accommodate halfdollars.

From the above description it will be apparent that the coin feeding, guiding and controlling means serving to deliver coins to the coin counting and registering means, may, by the improved mechanism afforded by the present invention, be nicely adjusted to the particular size of coin to be counted by but two manipulations; one serving to adjust the height of the coin runway extending under flange 7 to accommodate the thickness of the coin while simultaneously adjusting the turn-out plate 47 to proper position to accommodate the diameter of the coin, and the other to adjust the thrust plate 36 so that the same will cooperate with the turn-out plate to accommodate the diameter ot' the coin; while at the same time assuring that the outwardly delivered coins 4 ill be thrust positively into actuating en gagement with the star wheel of the coin counting and registering means.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and n y apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. In a coin counting machine havin a counting mechanism and a rotatable teed table for delivering coins to said counting mechanism, an annular coin guiding and controlling means overlying said food table and adjustable vertically with respect there to so as to accommodate coins of varying thicknesses passing therefrom, a pivot-ed, angularly adjustable coin turn-out plate operating with said teed table and counting mechanism, and means to simultaneously adjust said coin guiding and controlling means and said turn-out plate to conform to the dimensions of a selectef dcnomination 0': coin to be counted, said adji b means comprising a plurality of mutually annularly spaced jack screws engaging said coin guiding and controlling means, gearing interconnecting said jack screws, a knob on one of said jack screws, said knob being manualiy operable to turn said screw and said gearing to cause corresponding movements of the remaining jack screws and effect vertical movement oi said coin guiding and controlling means, and cam and lever mechanism connecting said g to said turn-out plate, whereby operation oi said gearing by the turning of said knob effects desired angular movement of said turn-out plate.

2. In a coin counting machine having a rotatable teed table adapted to discharge coins from the periphery thereof by centrifugal action, an annular coin guiding and controlling means vertically adjustable relative to said teed table, whereby the same may be spaced from the feed table a distance substantially equal to the thickness of any desired denomination of coin, said coin guiding and controlling means hav Iii a coin escape opening therein, a pivoted in turn-out plate positioned adjacent said coin escape opening and adjustable to lead coins tner cters thci nnmually operable means for adjusting the ver ical position oi said coin guiding and controlling means, and means actuated by said manually operable means r simultanoously adjusting the position of i 'd torment plate, said manually operable r us comprising a plurality of ack screws having means to connect their upper ends with said coin guiding and controlling means, a freely rotatable ring gear, said jack screws having pinions connected therewith to enga e said ring gear, a manipulatable d to one of said jack screws for the same, and indicating means on orative with said knob to denote the vaus adj nstment settings to which the jack r may be turned thereby, and said actuated means comprising a cam carried by said ring. gear and lever mechanism connected to said coin leading plate and cooperating with said cam.

3 In a coin counting machine having acounting mechanism and a rotatable feed table for delivering coins to said counting mechanism, a coin guiding and controlling means overlying said feed table and adjustable vertically with respect thereto so as to accommodate coins or varying thickness passing therefrom, a movable coin leading plate cooperative with said table and said coin guiding and controlling means for guiding coins from said teed table to said counting mechanism, manually operable means comprising gearing for moving said coiu guiding and controlling means vertically so that the distance between said coin guiding and controlling means and said feed table may be made such as to suit the thickness of any desired denomination of coin, a cam included in said gearing, and lever mechanism connecting said coin leading plate to said cam, said cam acting, through said lover mechanism during the operation oi? said manually operable means, to move said coin leading plate so that the posi tion of the same will conform to the diameter of the coin whose thickness is accommodated simultaneously by said coin guiding and controlling means.

at. In a coin counting machine having a rotatable feed table adapted to discharge coins from the periphery thereof by centrifugal action, an annular coin guiding and controlling means vertically adjustable relative to said feed table, whereby the same through according to the diant may be spaced from the feed table a distance substantially equal to the thickness of any desired denomination of coin, said coin guiding and controlling means having a depending annular stop flange surrounding the periphery of said feed table, said stop flange having a coin escape opening therein, a pivoted coin leading plate positioned so as to project into said coin escape opening and adjustable with respect to a Wall of said opening for leading coins there through in accordance to the diameters thereof, and means comprising gearing for adjusting the vertical position of said coin guiding and controlling means, said gearing having cam means included therein and connected to said coin leading plate for ad justing the angular position of said leading plate to suit the diameter of the denomination of coin Whose thickness is simultaneously accommodated by said coin guiding and controlling means.

In testimony, that I claim the invention set forth above I have h rennto set my hand this 3rd day of December 1931.

EDlVAR-D P. DONNELLAN. 

